慌了手脚

慌了手脚

Literally means:

be alarmed and confused

Actually means:

be seized with a panic

手脚 refers to behavior or action.

The phrase figuratively means that when something bad or unfortunate happens suddenly, one feels so frightened or nervous that he gets panicky or flustered, not knowing how to deal with it properly.

手脚，指行为或动作。

比喻某件不好的事情突然发生时，心里害怕或思想紧张，以致动作忙乱，不知道怎么正确应付。